Avaricious Savior
by Strife Atreyu
Summary: He was greedy and selfish. Why? Because he didn't want to lose anything. A two-shot that leads to an alternate ending.
1. Cruel Decision, Kind Heart

_When words couldn't be told, when letters, songs or whispers couldn't be said, would silence be his only companion?_

One...

two...

three...

four...

Four steps were taken as a weary being slinked towards the door, grim faced and ashen white skin coming into blend, and turning his features into a delicate portrait of agony - a picture that no painting or photograph could fully capture, but could only be expressed by the sight of his sorrowing orbs. His gloved hands clenched together into white knuckled fists, the fabric nearly tearing as it was stretched to its limit by a torrid rage and uncertainty that flowed inside of him like blood through his veins.

"Wolf?"

Nothing. It was as if she hadn't said anything, and she raised a hand to stop him but at the sight of his lingering blue depths, she stopped herself.

He seemed to finally realize that his name had been uttered out of her lips, and he halted in his advance with a finality that was grave. Slowly, he craned his neck to turn to her, and met her gaze with a small, false smile on his face.

"Yeah?" His tone was almost that of a childish ease, yet she knew better; he was never one for easy going.

She opened her mouth to say something, but once again, those sorrowing orbs stopped her, if only for a moment before the need to know of his condition took over and forced the words out with voice she recognized as hers.

"...You look..." Sad? Angry? Angst-ridden? Worried? All of them would fit the criteria quite nicely, but somehow, each couldn't describe what she saw in his eyes. Her throat clenched as worry seeped into her, and a word was suddenly thrown out without much thought, "...tired."

"I..." His voice was caught within a void, and the smile slowly came off his face. He turned and walked away without another noise, the soles of his boots silencing his already light steps.

She stared at him, a furrow in her brow, one that was more from presentiment than the incessant curiosity that nipped onto her psyche. Once again, she held out a hand to stop him, but it was too late, and he disappeared as the elevator doors shut themselves like a beast devouring its prey.

* * *

"What will you do?"

It was a question.

It was a question that asked everything that could be inquired, everything from the meaning of life to what to eat for dinner.

But he was still so uncertain with his answer - she could see that in his eyes.

He bit his lip, taking a seat on her bed as she stood over him while he crossed his fingers in front of his face, and thought and thought and thought about what to say, about what he could, should and would say, but nothing could have been entirely announced to appease the rising frustration in both of them, coiling around their hearts and swallowing their minds with a venomous grip that no poison could hope to match.

"With Nova...there's no way something like that can be stopped." She knew it. Despite how she was always the one who pegged him further, there was a limit to how much she would push him.

Wolf's face dropped into a deeper frown, and his shoulders tensed like he was getting ready to fight an opponent that was nowhere in sight. She sat down next to him, leaning slightly onto his form in a way that told him she was right there. His shoulders relaxed.

His head leaned on her own, and it was a strange farce that would have betrayed the gravity of the situation - the situation of everything. She bit her lip with rising dread, perhaps of paranoia or perhaps because she knew exactly what would happen now.

"What about you?" He asked her, muttering the question in that light tone of his.

"...My family is getting on the ships," She said, "I...I can't...won't do anything that might end up killing them..."

He remained silent at her words, staring unseeingly at the carpeted floor of her room with a blank look. She honestly would have taken something more, even an angry look thrown to her, but his face was that of understanding and of complete acceptance.

"...And you?"

"Hm?"

"You didn't answer the question," She told him. "Are you going?"

"I..." He stammered for a moment before straightening, "I'm not going."

She didn't immediately say anything at his answer. Her hand instead went and grasped his own like he would suddenly disappear, and his skin was unnaturally cold like he'd held it under a tub of freezing water for hours. She leaned closer, tucking the crown of her head under his adam's apple. His other arm, the one she wasn't holding, crept up on her and embraced her tenderly, but he didn't lower his gaze, just as she didn't try to meet his.

Sadness would only be reflected from either of their orbs, and not one of them believed they could see that in the other's eyes without feeling remorse or guilt for actions they had not committed, and guilt of that sort - they both knew - was incurable; if there was no sin, then there was no way to repent, was there?

"Why?" She asked, softly whispering it to the boy that had held her, kissed her, cherished her like no other. Her voice trembled, and she had to push down a hick as she forced more words out, "Why? Why can't you be selfish for once?"

Her question wasn't filled with emotion, rather it was filled with an emptiness that she had rarely ever felt before, and she realized that a part of her had expected his answer, yet that didn't mean there wasn't a side that wanted nothing more than to hope he would come with them to the Ark. His muscles stiffened slightly as her warm breath brushed past his neck. His arm tightened weakly around her, and somehow, she didn't need to look at him to know that this was hard not only for her.

But her eyes crinkled as tears welled up, and a choked sob escaped her lips as he held her closer.

"I don't want to lose you, Wolf." And it was the truth. She loved him, even if perhaps their relation, or whatever **it** is, was something that had sprouted from admiration instead of actual love. Admiration for his strange perseverance when there were a number of times she herself would've broken down and cried her eyes out.

But now, now the blonde teenager in front of her was someone that had truly shown her everything; his fears, his weakness, his life - everything about him, and when she had stuck through, perhaps there was something there that did link them together like a string - thin but strong and connecting them to each other like a chain.

Yet now...

Her lips pursed, and her hand unconsciously gripped his bare palm tighter, clutching it with a laughable protectiveness when she knew he was so much stronger than her.

"...Wolf..." His name had become so familiar when she said it, akin to an everyday routine she would create and act out of without thought. Perhaps that was why the pain, and sorrow started to leak in and shift into warm tears - because his name might suddenly disappear from everyone, even from her, and that was something that scared her. Forgetting about him and all the times he'd been with here was something...something she'd have thought worse than forgetting her own identity. He was part of her now, as she was for him.

But nothing could be said. His decision was something he had made, and the reason she wanted to stop him was at the same time, the reason she needed to let him go.

"I love you, Kanon," He said the words as his hand was taken from her grip and used to catch her in a full embrace.

She didn't say anything in response as her tears fell, silent as her voice and warm as the hands she used to return his embrace, digging her fingers into his jacket, unwilling to let go, yet knowing that sooner rather than later, she would leave him to a fate he had chosen and she thought herself too much of a coward to face with him.

Wolf loved her. He loved her too much to hate her, and as she cried her mute lament, the knowledge of that made her despise herself.

* * *

It all came down to this.

Looking at his unit as they sat around the table, he smiled a small smile at them as they remained silent, gathering in the center of the otherwise abandoned lobby with an apprehensive air that stifled any words. All of their eyes met, and somehow they knew this was nothing more than a desperate stand that formed out of their own objectives, their wills, and their own steadfast belief that they couldn't run away and sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives for their own. At the very least, they would try, though all of them knew - even the cheery Kota - that heroes were a thing of the past.

It didn't matter.

None of them were trying to be heroes.

All of them were just trying to give a chance to those who would have their's taken away.

"Hey, guys," Kota perked, his unnaturally down-trodden tone piercing the apprehension as all eyes turned to him, "I...I just want...well..."

He turned to them, meeting their gazes with a sad smile, one at a time.

"I...I'm really glad I met you all," He said.

Saya laughed, perking up at the chance to bring back a little life into the otherwise tense atmosphere. Wolf's sister latched an arm around Kota's, unknowingly making the redhead blush, "So dramatic, Kota-kun! Nii-chan can take a lesson from you."

Alisa snorted, but her lips twisted into a faint smile as she turned her gaze to the ceiling, "...You make it sound like there's no hope, Kota."

"Sorry,"

"How long until Licca opens the path to Aegis?" Wolf asked, turning to Soma as the blue cloaked teen flipped open his cellphone.

"Five minutes," He answered back.

Sakuya smiled in that way of hers like how a big sister would crinkle at her little siblings in a way that was both charming and sarcastic, "It'll be one, big party down there, eh Wolf?"

He chortled. One big, party indeed.

"I don't know about any of you, but I think I'll need to get a bit off the proverbial rocker if I'm gonna fight the devourer of stars."

Standing up, the blonde reached into the sofa like he'd lost a remote in the space between it. His unit looked at him curiously as he suddenly threw the bench's stuffing filled pillow over his head and reached in and brought out a six-pack of beer. Kota stared gobsmacked as his seventeen year old leader placed the cans in the middle of the table.

"Don't tell Tsubaki." He said, jokingly.

"Alcohol?" Sakuya raised a delicate eyebrow, turning to Wolf with a wry smile on her lips, "Aren't you underage?"

"I am," Wolf affirmed, but instead of being embarrassed, the minor reached for a beer can and popped it open in a way that reminded her of Lindow. "But, the fucking world is ending so why the hell not?"

Sakuya shook her head, but took one for herself, despite her general dislike of the drink. Kota followed suit, then Alisa and Saya grabbed a pair, and finally Soma took the last one with a faraway look in his eyes like he was reminiscing something.

"Cheers," Wolf raised his can to them, a strange asymmetrical expression on his face. His left eyebrow was crinkled, and the right side of his lips kicked up in a smirk that seemed both diabolic and teasing at the same time.

Soma smirked, and the others laughed before they all as one took a drink out of the now warm alcohol, gulping it down with a quick chug.

All of them fell unconscious as soon as the drinks were poured down their throats.

All of them but Wolf as he gave their sleeping forms an apologetic look. Grabbing his drink, the only one he hadn't drugged, the blonde took a careful sip out of it.

Kota's mother and sister were safe; he'd smuggled them onto the ships. Brendan, Shun and Karel would come soon to take the ones back here.

He'd used a drug designed by Sakaki normally meant for the enhanced immune system for gods eaters; one could've tranquilized an entire elephant within minutes of consumption. All of them would wake up, but not anytime soon. When they did, everything would be over, for better or worse.

With a weary sigh, the blonde silently apologized to them, and bade his farewell, but not before rooting around his pocket for the last beer can for the last person he had to make sure wouldn't suffer, however the finale turned out.

* * *

He found Licca typing away at a tablet hooked up to the large, metal doors that blocked their way into Aegis. It was originally unlocked but Alisa and Sakuya's former infiltration into the island had made Johannes take a few precautions - one of which came in the form of nigh indestructible titanium doors.

Fortunately, Licca was confident she could get it open in half-an-hour at the latest.

Watching the girl silently work on the door, Wolf took a sip out of his beer while an unopened can was clenched firmly in the hand that was at the same time in his jacket's pocket. He leaned on the corner with a blank look at her back, and occasionally to the large, metal gate that served to block the way to the battle that would decide mankind's fate.

"You stalking me, Wolfie?" Licca called out teasingly, yet she didn't turn to look at him. Despite that, a wide grin settled on her features, compressing the oil marks on her cheeks. Wolf smirked wryly, walking up to her without a noise as she worked on the door with a focus that could overshadow his like a hill would an ant.

"Maybe," He said in playful banter.

"Well, stalk me later, leader," She said, giving him a side-ways glance, "Right now, there's a bunch of problems that need to be addressed."

Wolf remained silent, and Licca got back to work, typing things into the touch-screen monitor of her tablet and occasionally muttering phrases of tech talk he couldn't discern. He was never much of a computer whiz.

"Where are the others?" She asked, suddenly.

"All of 'em are back in the lobby," Wolf lied through his teeth with a casualty that didn't betray him. For all the things he was good at, deceit was sadly high up on the list.

Licca hummed thoughtfully, punching in a few codes before releasing a sigh that sounded of relief.

"Alright," She announced, "I'm done."

Giving him a proud smile, the teen mechanic pressed one final time to enter the input into the mainframe of the doors. For a few moments, nothing happened.

Suddenly, the gears of the machine rumbled, twisting and turning within the walls of the great construct as it pulled the doors away from each other to reveal the path. Licca stood to full height, and he drank the last of his beer before he absentmindedly threw it over his shoulder with an easy nonchalance. Wolf whistled appreciatively.

"Pretty good, eh?" Licca laughed, turning to him.

Wolf held out the beer can in his palm.

Licca smiled sadly.

Unbuckling the thick gloves she sported, she brought out her pale hand - dainty and elegant, yet calloused from all the time she had spent with her work - and took the drink from his outstretched hold. She stared sadly at it, and Wolf had a feeling that she somehow knew it wasn't just alcohol. She gave him a meaningful look, sending him an unvoiced question that he found himself agonizing over.

_Is this what you want?_

Slowly, almost painfully, he nodded.

Licca smiled.

"You're a good person, Wolf." Licca told him, popping open the lid and looking at the drink with a somber expression. "When I first met you, I thought you were a bit cold...but...I thought it was just cuz you were afraid to lose someone after getting close to them."

Licca chuckled, elbowing him in the ribs; Wolf didn't meet her gaze.

"But, you know...all the things that happened make me think that maybe...just maybe...the only reason you didn't try to make friends with anyone...was because if you died, you were afraid they would be sad over it."

"I wanted to thank you, by the way." She said. "I know it was you that left those iced curry drinks on my desk every night."

...

"I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who helped Karel pay off the debts of his parents."

"I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who showed Brendan a way to another family after he lost his."

"I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who gave Kanon a reason to keep trying."

"I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who gave Eric a grave when he died - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who consoled his little sister - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who got Kota that day off when his baby sis had her ninth birthday - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one that helped Gina make peace with her past - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the one who helped Alisa when everyone else wanted nothing to do with her - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you were the only person that Soma talked to - I wanted to thank you cuz I know you tried so hard to find Lindow - I wanted to thank you cuz I know that you tried to help people even when you needed it even more."

"I wanted to thank you cuz I know that you always try to take everyone's burdens...even when your shoulders are already so heavy."

"Wolf..." Licca smiled sadly at him, "thank you...for everything."

She sipped on her drink, taking barely a couple of droplets into her mouth before her eyes closed, and she fell limp just as Wolf caught her.

Gently, the blonde set the smaller girl down, leaning her on the wall. He stared sadly at her, perhaps doubting his own strength before reminding himself that what was done was already done. Everything depended on this now, and maybe...just maybe...this was what was best for everyone.

"I'm sorry," He whispered at Licca, yet the girl's shallow breathing didn't give any indication that she was still awake, and without another word, the blonde stood at full height and heaved a tired sigh. His sky blue eyes - orbs that glowed with repressed power - gazed down the path to Aegis, an unidentifiable emotion flickering like a wildfire in the iris.

One more thing to do.

**XxXxX**

"You've come," those words seemed both taunting and respecting in a strange mix that irked him a great deal, "I'm surprised...I'd have thought your friends would have come along with you."

Wolf glared coldly at the director of the Far-East Branch, and in his hands, his god arc was clenched by white knuckled fists.

"...All of them are safe now. All of this," He waved one arm around his surroundings, "Whatever happens to this world...they'll all be able to see it...that was the best I could do for them."

Johan's ever present smirk dropped into a thin line across his lips, and he met Wolf's cold gaze with a steely resolve that the new-type had seen in both man and beast alike as they all refused to lay down and die. He would always remember those eyes.

After all, he'd spent a great deal of time around people with those same eyes filled with unyielding determination.

"I suppose you won't reconsider?" Johannes asked, yet there was a tinge of wryness and disappointment in his tone, already knowing the answer to this question.

Wolf shook his head.

"Arashi," Johannes said, "Do you honestly think that humankind can survive in this world? Where every time we slay one of those beasts, four of us die in return? Would you so casually disregard all the sacrifice of the men and women who have placed their faith...no...their life, their dreams and their hope into this? Into the new world where people can live without fear of tomorrow? Where a sunset can be enjoyed by lovers, and where a home may be warm with a family?"

"Shut up." Wolf muttered, lowly.

"Can you bring this burden on yourself? Will you throw away those who've sacrificed their souls for this cause?"

"Shut up."

"Do you know how much has been lost to this? How many have felt the loss of a sibling, a parent or a friend? Would you be able to face them and tell them all that you were the one who took all of those deaths and made them meaningless?"

"I said," Wolf growled. His gaze sharpened and his canines were bared at the man in front of him with a glare of unprecedented anger. His god arc was swung once in a wide arc, and the Koenigsburg scarred the metal floor where it scraped against. Looking closer into the new-type, his eyes flashed gold and the pupil became slit like the aragami he had so readily slaughtered in times past. His god arc was held in front of him, its golden edge glinting wickedly, and he dashed forward as a giant rose out from the ground. Sharply, and dangerously, he muttered-

**"Shut up."**


	2. Reason to Fight, End of a Life

A purple ball of plasma exploded just as he dived to the side, rolling away as the attack impacted onto the floor, denting it and blowing a plume of dirt in every direction. Wolf took no time to dust himself off as he immediately dashed forward, more balls of explosive energy trailing his steps. Parts of the battleground were eradicated, and shrapnel was blown at every direction in high speeds, threatening to cut into him if he even so much as hesitated in his sprint. His god arc grew heavier in his hands as exhaustion started to seep in, wearing his legs down and forcing him to breathe more air into his lungs.

Arda Nova seemed to smirk at him as he avoided the never ending barrage of bullets.

_"Give up,"_ It was that voice again, the voice of Johannes von Shicksal, yet the director's words rang with a metallic tone like it was mixed into a machine's speaker instead of an actual human throat, _"Even if you defeat me, Nova cannot be stopped."_

"I told you to shut up!" Wolf grit his teeth, turning sharply and tucking himself close to the ground just as a ball of white-hot plasma came inches from blowing his head off, yet only succeeded in flying inches overhead. Its heat was scorching, however, and Wolf had to ignore the sudden dryness of his eyes as he ran at Nova, god arc in preparation to cut.

Blue eyes glowed with the power of oracle cell, dangerously shining with a golden sheen that seemed almost demonic. Raising a hand, Arda Nova silently commanded its gigantic counterpart, Adra Nova to comply and blast a pink sphere of energy at the approaching blonde. Wolf swung his god arc in a wide arc, and the resulting explosion showered the view of him in a cloud of dust. Nova waited patiently for the dust to clear when the leader of the first unit broke his cover, leaping at the man-made aragami. His god arc glinted, and it was swung down, ready to hack into Arda Nova's head.

It never connected.

Faster than what its large body would hint, the large defender, Adra Nova backhanded the blonde's airborne form, sending the lone boy sailing straight into a wall where an indentation formed to the shape of his back. Wolf fell to his knees before falling face down on the floor, his god arc suddenly too heavy to lift, and his head spinning from the sudden attack that very nearly crushed his limbs and him into a fine paste.

Spots lined his vision, and his body felt like it had taken an electric energy ball straight into his chest - and he knew exactly how that felt like. A warm, coppery liquid suddenly filled his mouth, and the blonde coughed once when the fluid started to block his throat, prompting the blood to splatter the floor. His hand gripped weakly around the hilt of his weapon, and he forced his body to comply, gloved fists clenching when the sharp pains of his joints screamed at him to stay down. Something wet trickled down his brow, and he lapped at it, only to taste the same coppery liquid already in his mouth. He was bleeding from a concussion.

A shaky smile graced his features. Finally, a time when he actually had an excuse to be delirious.

Drops of his crimson lifeblood dripped unto the cold, metal floor of Aegis. Wolf counted three form small pools of red before he was able to stand with his aching back leaning on the wall he had imprinted himself upon. Ruffling through his pocket, the blonde grabbed a handful of pills and greedily devoured the sick tasting aid, the boost in oracle cells derived from his devouring of them already helping regenerate the damaged bones and ripped sinew of his body. Arda Nova watched calmly, not even a scratch on its white and purple skin, and not a hint of worry on its haughty smirk.

Eyes burning, the young soldier spit out a glob of red tinted saliva before charging once more at the Devouring Apocalypse.

**XxXxX**

Saya Arashi woke up to a view of the grandeur.

_He was always hurting himself,_

A haze drifted over her eyes, and she had to fight the urge to close her eyes and lay back down to the clutched of a fitful slumber. She deserved it, didn't she? Her body had been battered by battles fought against beasts of horrifying power, her eyes haunted with the sight of watching another human lose their light, watched the fragile flame fickle out of life from a friend's eyes, even her parents' own. She deserved rest, she deserved to lay rest for all that she had sacrificed, dreaming in a perfect world with a perfect life with a perfect family and a perfect way of life.

But every time she closed her eyes, fear gripped her with its cold fingers, wrenching at her heart and waking her from any rightly earned rest. Her dreams were more often nightmares, her life was brimming with anxiety, and her only family would soon die.

Cold reality slapped her awake, and Saya Arashi suddenly saw the visage of grandeur, the visage of heaven, fade through her fingers like water through a net, empty of anything, only leaving the bitter emptiness for her to cradle.

_But...maybe that was why he could hide it so well. Pain had become something normal to him._

Something cold was unconsciously clutched in her fist, yet her focus was instead directed at the strange room she found herself in. Cold, bare and lacking any of the pictures she treasured.

Dread settled into her gut.

_If that was the reason...then I'm also to blame._

_Brother was always that person I admired, the person who I always looked up to. Every kid has a person like that, right? A person they always think would be with them, either a parent, a friend or a stranger you've heard stories about. You always have someone who you think's invincible.  
_

_Maybe in that admiration...I forgot that he felt just as much as I did.  
_

_Maybe in that illusion, I forgot to look at the cracks instead of the pieces.  
_

_Maybe...maybe...maybe..._

_Nii-chan..._

_I'm so sorry._

"Where is he?!" Saya all but screamed. Her face twisted into a snarl as she ran straight out into the corridor where her unit awaited, faces grim, and gazes unwilling to meet hers.

"Saya..." Kota raised a hand to placate her, but the seething glare that seemed so rare on her usually smiling face erased the notion that he could do anything in this situation.

"Where is he?!" Saya demanded again, but not one of them answered.

"Calm down," Soma said, levelly.

Convinced that she couldn't get anything out of them, the girl dashed for the nearest door. Soma stopped her however, grabbing her wrists and pulling her back. Saya flailed, kicked and punched, but Soma was hurt with injuries far worse than what her small fists could inflict, and his grip was too strong for her to break free from. Desperation seeped into her system, and she pulled one arm close enough to bite the taller male's wrist. Soma, perhaps in surprise or perhaps in genuine pain, yelped, and she took that chance to throw her over her hip, anger accentuating her already increased strength to a degree that Soma went flying to the other side of the room.

Kota and Alisa tackled her as she tried to make another break for it, yet Saya had better experience in hand-to-hand combat thanks to her brother's tutelage.

Kota hooked an arm around her right, yet that attempt failed when Saya used that to pull him in close enough to knee his gut. Kota crumpled and Saya used his back as a spring, jumping easily over Alisa and Sakuya without so much as a second glance. She ran out, her pink hair flying behind her.

A wolf necklace dangled from the strap reverently held in her closed fist.

She ran, and ran, and ran and ran.

Paths winded, corridors melted, and she vaguely wondered why she was even running, but for reasons she couldn't make sense of, her legs refused to stop. Her sprint didn't ease, even as her lungs burned with strain, and her knees started to beg for rest.

No, that wasn't right. She knew why she was running. She knew why she wouldn't stop. She still hoped for a chance that she'd somehow stagger unto a door - a door that would lead to an exit from this world where she would soon feel the loss of another person she loved. Reality was a cruel creation, allowing you to build your own world where the facts would be what you chose it to be, yet soon, it would topple that illusion like a child's building block tower. It would force you to face your deepest fears, your most terrible denials, and in the end, would leave you a broken mess.

Finally, after running for what felt like hours, her legs weakened, Saya falling to the ground when she found her feet grew limp, and scratching her hands unto the metal floor.

Sweat trickled down her brow, and her breaths came out as quick gasps like she'd been submersed in a swimming pool for a good few minutes. Her right hand curled around the necklace from her brother, a necklace she remembered giving him all those years ago.

"Damn it,"

**BANG**

Her fist dented the floor.

**BANG**

It hollowed further.

**BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG**

Her hand hurt, yet the pain from which her tears sprouted was not derived from one injury of such simplicity.

"GODDAMN IT!"

What had they done to deserve this? Her home burning, her world ending, and now her brother dying. Just how much could life take before she was just left a hollow husk? Before she was instead a walking corpse, stolen of her will to live as a thief would steal in the cover of the night? Was this the fate that always followed them? Sacrifice yourself, then sacrifice some more. She screamed, and screamed from the loss of everything - her soul, her heart, and the people she cherished.

Was this how it would be? Give, give, then give some more?

What was the point in living if there was nothing to live for?

**BANG BANG BANG**

Her fist raised once more, and she was sure one of her fingers was dislocated. Saya didn't care. She just became numb to the pain, unfeeling as her blood trickled down from her battered hands, staining the spot where she'd taken her frustrations out of. Before she could dent it more, however, a hand reached out and gripped her arm. Saya turned with a scathing glare, yet her gaze softened at the sight of the person her brother had cherished just as much as her.

"Kanon-chan..."

**XxXxX**

_"You fight for nothing!"_

A whip impacted onto his back, biting into his skin and ripping the flesh beneath it. Wolf bit back a scream, barely able to shove down the pain and leap away just as another appendage missed him by millimeters and dug a finger deep trench into the steel grating of Aegis. His breaths came out in short intervals, heaving and gasping for air as fatigue started to nestle deeper, weighing his movements with manacles put in place by human limitations. A trickle of sweat ran down his cheek, the new-type wiping it away with the back of his hand as he stared down the seemingly smirking man-made aragami in front of him. Arda Nova's tentacle - the one that cut his back - was shimmering with a dark crimson liquid. Blood traced down the slender limb's form, and just before it hit the elbow, Arda Nova licked it away, teasingly.

Wolf didn't give himself time to think of the eroticism of the act, and lunged once more, his god arc flashing towards the female humanoid. Adra Nova moved its gigantic arms, blocking his blade easily with its thick gauntlet covered fists, while the impact numbed the gods eater's hands, and he had to curse at the frailty of a human's limbs just before he had to jump back when another gigantic fist plowed into where he was standing. Wolf's god arc was already switching forms when his feet touched the ground, and it took no less than a second to have the aragami duo face down the barrel of a massive minigun. He spammed his bullets, showering the aragami with a rain of sub-zero ice.

Adra Nova batted one away, then another, then another before finally, it was blindsided by the remaining shots. An ice bullet embedded itself into Adra Nova's chest before exploding in an outbreak of frost, opening the window for its companions to embrace their target with deadly force. Wolf's trigger finger did not let up until his reserves ran dry;consequently, the aragami was covered by the thick fog that arose from the onslaught.

Arda Nova broke first from the foliage, leaping high into the air and breaking past the smoke before nosediving at him. Wolf dodged to the right before dashing right in to bludgeon the female on its skull. Arda Nova's head snapped back from the impact of steel, and the blow must have been strong enough to disorient it as it fell to the floor, feeling like a ten wheeler had rammed straight into its cranium. Wolf moved to continue an assault, but the sudden movement from the corner of his eye warned him just in time for him to bring up his shield. Adra Nova's fist was covered with a thick layer of oracle induced ice, and the brute made use of this. It threw a massive haymaker at his face, and Wolf's shield nearly broke as the ice shattered upon its steel frame. It held, leaving Wolf no more worse for wear, yet the brute strength was more than enough to propel him back to the other side of the battleground.

He flew threw the air for moments of weightlessness before gravity took effect and pulled him down again, the momentum still enough to keep him skidding back for meters before he was finally able to dig his heel in.

_"You could have had salvation!" _Johannes told him, _"You could have had a world free of this shadow! Free of the pain of losing your loved ones! Do you know how much was sacrificed to give all of you a chance to a true future?! Do you know what **I've **sacrificed?!"_

Arda Nova charged at him, its humanoid form morphing into an arachnid exo-skeleton to allow greater mobility. It brought two of its fore claws up, making to pierce his chest cavity. Wolf formed his shield again, grunting with effort as he was suddenly face-to-face with Nova's avatar, vaguely aware that a piece of metal was the only thing stopping it from ripping him apart, limb from limb.

_"I gave my resolve!"_ Wolf's feet skid back, bit by bit as the overpowering strength of the deceptively lithe aragami pushed him back, _"I gave my love!" _His back hit the wall, _" I gave my son!"_ He was forced to a knee, his arms straining to hold the god arc steady, _"I gave everything! Why can you not understand that?!"_

**"I UNDERSTAND!"**

Johannes must have been startled by his outburst because the pressure on his arms lightened just enough for him to push off the aragami. Arda Nova drew back, yet before Wolf could cut into its flesh, it floated away, coming to a stop next to Adra Nova.

"You lost Aisha to this goal! A goal both of you created so that everyone could have a chance at happiness!"

His legs burned, his arms felt like someone had put his muscles through a shredder, and there were injuries on his person he didn't even want to think about. Even so, the blonde reared his sword and charged. Adra Nova fired a condensed ball of plasma at him, and he jumped over it and let it pass under without so much as a secondary glance. It flew forward even without an imminent target and collided with one of the pillars of Aegis, blowing a chunk away to bits and pieces of metal. Wolf brought his blade into a wide arc, and steel finally shredded into the aragami's flesh like a hot knife through half-melted butter. Blood exploded like a geyser from the wound, and Arda Nova screamed shrilly, even as Adra Nova then advanced to give its counterpart time to recover.

"This was her dream! You and Aisha created this, and it cost her life pursuing this! Because of that, you cling to the Ark Project knowing this is Aisha's last will, and that's why you can't bring yourself to give up!" Wolf's god arc met in a thunderous shower of sparks with the armored fist of Adra Nova, blue eyes ablaze with a light, **"Because you don't want her death to be meaningless!"**

"Aisha was the person that was always by your side! When even you didn't think you could do anything, she believed in you! When you lost her, you needed to do something so no one would forget her! You wanted to do something so that **you **wouldn't forget her! All of this - the Ark Project," Blue eyes flashed gold, "Everything is for the person you loved!"

"Why I fight isn't any different!" Wolf growled, an animalistic noise that erupted from the back of his throat as his pure blue eyes now shined gold with a lurking power. His body felt lighter as the fatigue seemed to seep away, and a sense of new found vigor struck him like a life giving lightning bolt.

**_"Hey, man!" Kota smiled easily at him_,_ "What's up?"_**

"I want to always remember them! I want to always see them, laugh with them, cry with them, to live with them! I want to see their life with my own eyes, I want to meet the person they'll marry, I want to see their first kids, I want to see their story as they write it!"

_**"I wanted to thank you," Alisa mumbled, "For being my friend."**_

_**"Don't lag behind," Soma smirked at him, "You've got some big shoes to fill."  
**_

"I want to live! Live with them, and make a life out of this world! But I don't want to sacrifice anything!"

_**"Always trying to take other people's problems," Sakuya gave him a dry smile, "You're more like Lindow than you think."**_

_**"Nii-chaaaan!" Saya laughed just before she wrapped her arms around him**_

"I won't give them up! Not for anything!"

**_You're a real bother, spikes - Wolf...thank you - I had a feeling - Real intuitive - Man, she's scary - You think Hibari will like this one? - Don't worry so much, Wolf - Whoops, sorry about that, Wolf - Alright! You look fantastic! - Ha! You should have seen the look on your face - Hey...friends? - Lend me some money? Heh, just kidding - Don't give me that lip, you brat - It makes me wonder...if we even have a choice - Comfy, there, Wolfy? - Nii-chan...will I see you again?  
_**

_**"Hey," Kanon smiled, "stay with me, alright?"**_

"I fight because I want to see them all!"

_"YOU LOST YOUR CHANCE!" Johannes screamed, "Your happiness will disappear with those ships! __T_he Ark Project was the only thing able to bring you what you desire!"

"The outcome isn't going to be determined by that! I won't let it!" Parry, slash, roll, stab - his body was automatic in its movements, possessing him more than he possessed it, yet the words spilling out of him couldn't have been any more determined, any more recognized. His doubts faded as his will was emblazoned by memories of people he cherished. Suddenly, his arms weren't so tired anymore, and his body felt light as a feather. It was a feeling that overshadowed burst mode, like he'd been given the wake up jolt of a lifetime.

Wolf was alive, and that was all he needed to be to fight for his ideals.

In Aegis, two ideals clashed - shaped for the sake of others, yet formed by two so different individuals, and both formed for the reason of two separate people. Such difference in beliefs had opened conflict of tremendous scale, and had taken the lives of many before them with even more to lose placed down the line. Whatever the outcome, this fight wasn't just for the few thousands in the Arks - this fight was what would determine the true meaning of 'right' and 'wrong' - of 'life' and 'death'. Conflicting desires would clash but which one would forge the path?

Humanity was so fickle in their views...but at the same time, that was what caused them to become what they were. Because their determination was something not even the gods could comprehend.

_**Everything came down to this.**_

**XxXxX**

Big brothers never lie...

"He's always making me worry."

Saya couldn't help but agree.

A single, frail hand was placed on the glass as if wishing to pass through it. Saya was silent as she stared at the blue giant below, a world she had called home. Because that was what it was. It was broken, it was chaotic, and it was tainted, but in the end, it was always her home.

A small voice told her, reminding her, _'Not anymore.'  
_

Her world was ending, falling to the way for a madman...no, Johannes was many things, but he was not a madman. He truly saw the Ark Project as something that could save the world, and, strangely, Saya couldn't help but acknowledge that. A world without aragami, where people could live peacefully. A world where she could laugh with her friends and not have to look over her shoulder for anything that was about to pounce on her. It sounded so...perfect.

But she couldn't condone something that would cost the lives of thousands of innocent people.

Her brother was down there, wasn't he? Fighting for reasons she herself couldn't understand. It was, in a way, foolish, she admitted. Fighting an apocalyptic world ending monster for people you didn't know while the people you actually did know got into a ship and left the planet.

Her brother tricked her.

He tricked all of them and taken away their choice...but she wasn't angry. She couldn't bring herself to be angry because some part of her believed he was doing what he always did.

Protecting his family.

"You know," Kanon began, looking sadly at the Earth through the glass pane, "when Wolf first came to the Den...he and I hated each others guts."

She paused momentarily with a far away gaze. Something about it seemed haunted - sad, remorseful, yet happy. "We got into a lot of fights...usually for small to no reasons. He'd come to the clinic with an injury, and I'd mock him. I would go to the cafeteria and he'd try to steal my rations...little stuff that annoyed me at the time."

"I don't know when that annoyance started to turn into whatever we had at the time. Maybe it was because he always kept coming back, and I eventually got used to him...whatever the reason, we started to get along...Your brother is persistent when he wants to be, y'know?"

"...Wolf is someone who would rather get hurt by himself."

Her brother was someone who didn't want others to suffer. Her brother was someone who, in a way, didn't know how to be selfish. Her brother was someone who would rather take the weight of the sky than let someone he loved go through any pain. It was why he'd gotten strong - because he wanted the power to protect them.

"Stupid..." Saya muttered, "Doesn't he...doesn't he know that I wanna protect him too?"

"I don't want to lose him! Doesn't he know that if he leaves, it'll hurt even more? He's my brother! He's my goddamn brother, and he still doesn't want me to be with him! Does he think I can just pretend I never knew him?! I don't want to forget him, but I don't want to look back on all the times I've laughed with him and cry knowing I'll never have time like that again! I would rather die with him than abandon him!"

Kanon slapped her.

For a moment, the pain was dulled by the shock. For a moment, the sorrowful look that had settled unto Kanon's features had turned into disappointment. For a moment, the only thing she could hear was the echo of her stinging skin.

A moment passed.

"Don't you dare say that." She growled, "If you died, then he would lose more. He would lose a reason to keep on fighting. What he did was for you, and you think you can just throw that away?!"

"He wants you to live, Saya! He wants you to keep on living, even without him! It'll hurt, but that's the truth of it! Do you really want to throw that away?! Do you really want to spit on what Wolf wished for you to have?!"

"And where does that leave me?!" Saya screamed, "Crying over another grave?! Crying over his goddamn body?! Going over the memories and the pictures while I can't even stop sobbing?! He wants me to live in this hell alone?!"

**"You're not alone!"**

Saya stiffened.

"Do you think others won't be sad? Do you think he wasn't someone we loved as well? If you cry over his grave, we'll be crying with you! If you cry over his body, we'll help you bury him! If you're going over memories, we'll be with you, laughing and sobbing along! You're not alone, Saya!" Kanon grabbed her shoulders, "Your brother made sure you wouldn't be alone!"

"I love him, Saya...just as much as you do. He was the person I...that we would've given our lives for. I wanted to spend my life with him...that moron actually got me to love him...so don't you dare say you would rather die than live! Live and struggle because if I had to bury you, I wouldn't be able to face him when we meet again!"

"Nii-chan...was...I don't..." Her wall cracked, "Ah...aaah...AAAAAA**AAAAHHHHH! ONII-CHAAAN!**"

When the tears came, she didn't stop them, and yet still used her hands to try to wipe away the river that threatened to fall. Kanon embraced the younger girl, yet the tears fell just as well on her own delicate features. Saya had never felt this much pain before; the pain of helplessness, the pain of knowing you couldn't do anything for someone you loved was something that could break the most durable of all. So she didn't stop crying. Brother always said tears made everything better...

And big brothers never lied.

**XxXxX**

A grim chuckle escaped his lips.

His hands let go of the weapon clutched within them, the god arc rattling as it fell to the floor with a heavy crash. Something warm trickled down his left arm, and he vaguely connected it as blood from the deep wound in his shoulder where one of Arda Nova's tentacles had succeeded in drilling into his flesh. His other hand reached up, trying to stifle the blood flow before it he lost too much. It wouldn't do to fail in his goal when he'd come so close because his body wimped out and fell to the ground in a puddle of its own life.

Arda Nova, torn into massive pieces, remained motionless. Both of the aragami did not move, laying on the ground without so much as a twitch to signify that it was still alive.

One thing left to do.

Shio was released, free falling from a height that would've killed an ordinary girl. But it was of no consequence even if she were a normal girl. Wolf caught her in his grasp, the blonde ignoring the sharp pain that screamed at him to stay down. His body was hurting everywhere, and there was no doubt there wasn't a fatal wound with all the ones he had suffered.

Shio was cold, unusually so. Before, whenever Wolf had felt her, her skin was warmer than regular humans. It was surreal to feel her touch so clammy, and he had to ignore his heart as it crawled into his throat. He crouched down, still holding her and brushed the bangs away from her delicate face, quiet and peaceful as the times she would fall asleep after a big meal.

She wasn't breathing.

"Plan B, then."

Aegis was shaking now, and it wasn't a surprise earthquake, that he could tell. Nova's gemstone grew eerily yellow as if warning him to run away before the bomb of the millennium dropped and exploded onto the spot he was standing on. He ignored the tremors, and placed his hand into Shio's.

"Let this work," He grit his teeth, "Let this bat-shit crazy plan work."

His armlet started to leak a dark aura.

Everything faded to white.

**XxXxX**

_"You're here..."_

_Was he? Everything felt so warm...so...right. It was too peaceful for it to be anything but a dream. It couldn't be real, could it?  
_

_"Wolf? Woo~lf? Are you awake?"_

_His lips parted, yet his eyes remained shut. He didn't want to wake up from this dream...it was all too peaceful. Still...that voice was familiar..._

_"Shi...o?"_

_"Wake up! Come on! I'm hungry!"_

_His eyes snapped open._

_His sight was met with white, leaving nothing else to be seen. Like a camera flash though, the light faded, allowing him to see the tree he was under. His fingers curled around something small and moist, morning grass, and he could smell the scent of honey tinted wind as a breeze flew past, playfully tickling his nape and bringing along the fresh scent of summer to his nose. the tree, one he recognized as a Narra, swayed its branches to the whispers of the breeze like it wished for nothing more than to dance with the wind. Patches of sunlight shined from under the shade, and Wolf was oddly relaxed in the unknown environment.  
_

_No...this place wasn't unknown._

_He had lived here...this was his home...the one before the aragami, and the tree he was under...this was the same one he and Saya would always lay under when they were kids - the one on top of the hill overlooking the town...the same one he watched burn to the ground._

_How was this...?_

_"Woo~lf!" A pair of gold eyes came face to face with him, "I'm hungry!"_

_"Shio..."_

_...that's right...the resonance. He was planning to use the resonance to shut down Nova...but why was he here?_

_"So you are Wolf..."_

_Who was that?!_

_With the presence of an unknown, Wolf threw off his peaceful daze, snapping up to the sight of a woman._

_"Mom?"_

_It couldn't be mistaken. Her hair, with locks so long that they reached her knees, was shockingly pink - a trait received by his little sister. His mother was also wearing the white dress he remembered her by, clean, smooth and as pure as her skin. All of her features were the same as he could still recall, yet he clearly knew that his own mother was dead and gone. He had watched her die with his own eyes, so who-?!  
_

_Gold eyes..._

_His mother's eyes were supposed to be blue._

_"Nova."_

_Nova smiled, "Hello, my child."_

_Shio was smiling, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. She knelt next to Wolf, still in the white and green dress they had gone through the trouble of making just for her, and the aragami girl pulled on his sleeve, "Wo~lf, where's Soma? Have you seen the others?"_

_"...they're..." Wolf stopped._

_Were they alright? Were they still in the Ark? Did they somehow get off in the last minute and were on their way to Aegis? He hoped not. What he had in mind wasn't exactly full proof. All of them were in danger if that were to happen. Doubt started to seep in now, and Wolf reminded himself he would have to trust his comrades to respect his wishes even if he took away their choice on the matter.  
_

_"...they're fine, Shio. All of 'em are safe."_

_"Okaa~y!"_

_Wolf returned his gaze to Nova, "...What is this place?"_

_His mother - Nova, once again smiled warmly. It was strange to see his mother's face again, in front of him, and not a dream or a figment of his imagination. But he reminded himself this wasn't his mother - this wasn't the woman who had smiled gently whenever he had come home, dirty from all the time he'd spent playing. She wasn't the same one who had nurtured Saya and him. She wasn't the same woman who'd smelled of lavender and of honey. She wasn't the one who's laughter made him smile, the one who's embrace warmed him in a way that no one but a loving parent could create.  
_

_She wasn't his mother, no matter how much he wanted to believe it._

_"You could call it your mindscape," Nova began, "It is the world you have created. For most humans, this is a representation of their psyche, and a place where they hold their memories. For others, like you, it is that as well as a metaphysical realm for which you use to accept incredible amounts of strain."  
_

_"A coping mechanism?"_

_"Mmmm..." Nova nodded, "In a way, yes. But it is also a world which you created. You would be nothing short of a diety here, if it weren't for me and my Shio sharing this space."  
_

_Shio got up and started to chase a butterfly, watching it with a childlike curiosity. She had probably never seen one before, now that he thought about it._

_"...the resonance...brought us here."_

_"Yes...resonance. You resonated with my cells using my little Shio as a catalyst. It was certainly a surprise that you were able to think of that. I never thought I'd ever be able to hold a conversation with a human. __Wolf Arashi...my son."_

_"I'm not your son." He bit back._

_"Oh? But you became my son the moment you placed on that wristband, child. You became my offspring. Human, aragami - whatever you wish to call yourself, you will always be my son."  
_

_Wolf didn't argue further, it was true, after all, and he needed to continue rather than daunt on a meaningless statement._

_"I'm not here to talk about that..."  
_

_"Yes. We are connected here. I can sense your emotions, chaotic tides as they are now."_

_"...then you already know my question."_

_"Mmm..." Nova turned away, watching the town as the wind suddenly grew silent, "You wish to stop the Apocalypse."  
_

_"You're the calamity...the means to an end. I want you to give me your word that you will never harm humanity, and I want you to keep it."  
_

_"Making demands, already?" Nova chuckled, "You're more of a child than you think."_

_Wolf smirked, "Maybe."_

_..._

_"You realize that even if I do stop...even if I do go back to my slumber...that in the end, humanity will still fall." Nova turned to him, "I want you to tell me. Why do you want me to do so? All you shall do is to add sand to the hourglass of time, and even then, those grains will run swift."  
_

_"Of course I know that," Wolf began, "there's no such thing as forever. Everything will end. Life and death, there can't be one without the other. I know that one day, humans will be wiped out...but..."  
_

_Kanon, Saya, Alisa, Soma, Sakuya, Kota...all of them were people he would give his life for. All of them were people who weren't pure, who weren't innocent, and knew that sometimes life only gave you lemons so it could rub them into your scars. Family would give way to darkness, friends would give into greed, and sometimes, love would fall to might. In this place, justice was made by those who were stronger. Good and evil were brands placed by those who held power, whether for the right or wrong, and that reality was a truth that would lead to nihilism.  
_

_"Do you really expect me to lay down and let it be?" Wolf clenched his hands, "Live and struggle. Do everything to live...if not for yourself, then for the people you love."  
_

_"...Your mother's words?"_

_Wolf nodded, "It's what she always told me...before she..."_

_..._

_"Is that why you fight, then? You wish to live for the sake of others?"_

_"Of course not."_

_"Hm?"_

_"I don't want to die. I don't want to lose my life before I have to. I want to see my sister, to spend more time with Kanon. I want to see my friends as they grow up, and I want to help rebuild the world so that no one will have to go through the pain of seeing someone they love die in front of their eyes. Pain like that will never go away. You never really stop being able to love a person...eventually, you just learn to live without them by your side. __I don't want Kanon or Saya to feel that...I don't want them to think of me and feel nothing but emptiness when they do. I want so many things...I'm like a child..."_

_"But that just means I have my reasons to fight. I'll die here...I know that...but if I can't do anything, then I'll make damn sure that they can keep living."  
_

_..._

_Nova...was chuckling? She was actually chuckling before speaking in a low mutter, "You truly are as I expected."_

_"Huh?"_

_Standing, Nova walked to his position on the ground. She knelt next to him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck in an embrace that felt as comforting as he remembered his mother's. He stiffened at the contact, and Nova whispered, softly, almost mistakable for a soft wind had her breath not been warm,  
_

**_"I'm proud...to have you as my son."_**

**XxXxX**

When Wolf woke up, the world was singing.

Wind whispered into his ears, whistling a melody that held an intristic beauty. Water crashed into the shores of Aegis, creating a mild disturbance from the quiet lyrics of the wind, yet still leaving the peace to the land, as if trying to set the lullaby that would enslave the world into slumber. His hair brushed past his eyes, and he noted that his normally bright strands looked pale in the moonlight - the power in Aegis had long been cut off by the fight before, and had left nothing but the ghostly light that came from the moon to illuminate the crevices.

Nova pulsed.

Strands of energy - the web that overshadowed Aegis - began to move, encompassing the sudden surge of oracle cells that was pushed into their frame. Energy ran through the anchors, the strange net now emitting a golden power that ran inside of it.

Winds grew into gales, and the ocean grew angrier as Aegis began to sink, forced down by the will of Nova. Strand upon strand began to cover the dome, trapping it within a cocoon of its own making.

Wolf couldn't move anymore. His limbs were lead, and his brain was already too tired to form any panic. Even if it wasn't, he had long ago accepted what would happen if he went through this plan, and his inevitable death were one the conditions he had made his peace with.

_Oh take a look in the mirror, you look so sad  
It's so cold like that winter market we used to go  
I don't cry anymore but I feel so hurt_

His mother always sang this song to him. It was his lullaby, his memory, but now it would be the song played at his funeral. Wolf chuckled. He was strangely fine with that.

_So I don't need you too close to me  
You don't hear me, so you said  
I don't know why thing have changed since yesterday  
_

_**I'm Alisa Illienchina Amiella. I look forward to working with you - Ugh...my training did not include this - Why are you...helping me? - I...er...thank you.  
**_

_This could be love again __  
All I need is you  
Come back, I'm waiting anytime the heavy rains come _

**_Welcome to this godawful workplace - I'm Soma...not that you need to remember that - I won't let that S.O.B father of mine use her like a tool - Heh...come to think of it, I jabbed my sword at you the first time we met as well._**

_Still I miss days with you  
I can't look into your face  
Oh Feeling blue and looking back again  
Please come back to me _

_**Hey, you a recruit, too? - I'm Kota Fujiki. Nice ta meet ya! - You're quiet, ya know? Not in a bad way! - Hey...we're friends, aren't we? - I've got your back!  
**_

___So I don't need you too close to me  
You don't hear me, so you said  
I don't know why thing have changed since yesterday _

_**I'm Sakuya. Sakuya tachibana - Are you alright...Leader~? - You're a lot like him... - You'll do great. I know you will - Remember, the best gods eaters...tend to die young - Work hard.  
**_

___This could be love again  
All I need is you  
Come back, I'm waiting anytime the heavy rains come _

_**Nii-chaan! - I'm thankful...I got to see you again, nii-chan - I want to stay by your side! - Hey...can you promise me...we'll always be together?  
**_

___Still I miss days with you  
I can't look into your face  
Oh Feeling blue and looking back again  
Please come back to me _

**___Eep! I-I'm sorry! - My n-name's K-Kanon Daiba. N-nice to meet you, Wolf - You're hurt...erm...s-stay here - Don't scare me like that, you idiot! - Wolf...thanks... - I trust you...hey, s-stop smiling like that! - I love you - I won't leave you...I'll never leave you._**

_To stay with you always  
You're the world to me  
And dreaming on  
So you can take my sword for you  
Oh How do you feel so fine  
You are the world to me  
And dream on  
You stole my heart so long ago  
Oh I release my soul  
So you feel my song_

**_"Wolf?"_**

**_"Hm?"_**

**_"..."_**

**_"What is it?"_**

**_"Stay with me."_**

**_"Huh?"_**

**_"Stay with me...never leave my side. Okay?"  
_**

**_"...Yeah...that sounds nice."_**

**_"Hehe...you idiot..."_**

**_I love you_**

* * *

**And done! I may or may not upload an epilogue.**

**Okay, to tell you the truth, this is something of an experiment. I have absolutely no idea how to write a death scene, and I do require experience in that particular subject because, well, awesome people tend to die in awesome stories.**

**Since this is my first ever death scene, tell me what you think.**

**Korny? Sappy? Poetic? Awful?**

**Wow, I just can't use a goddamn compliment on my own work...that's low self-esteem, ladies and gentlemen.**

**Seriously though, review!**

**Song used is Release My Soul - Guilty Crown**


End file.
